With the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds making their way through the bracket to
the finals for the first time in recent memory, it came as no surprise
that the final match of the Championship Flight at the Girls State
Junior was a battle. Second seed Kayla Katterhenry of Newburgh and top
seed Katie Sharp of Kendallville went back and forth all day Friday,
June 24, at Harrison Hills before Katterhenry eventually defeated Sharp
only 1 up. “I just tried to take it one shot at a time out there today,”
said Katterhenry. “I told myself to play my game and not focus on her
shots.” The strategy worked for the rising junior, who earned her first
championship victory. “I want to come back next year and try to defend
my title,” she explained.
Katterhenry was the first of the two
players to make a move. After the first two holes, she was already 2 up,
but Sharp stayed persistent and by the 7th tee she was leading 1 up. It
continued to go back and forth, with only four holes being halved all
round. At the par-3, 17th, the match was all square. Katterhenry went
just over the green into the rough, while Sharp missed hers short on a
steep hill in the rough. Katterhenry was able to convert her up and down
to have the advantage heading to the 18th tee. On the final green,
Sharp had a chance to make a long putt for birdie to take the match to
extra holes, but she missed and Katterhenry prevailed.
Click here for Girls State Junior Match Play brackets and results.